FAQ’s and Resources

It is not possible to make outdoor activities completely risk free, but you could say that about absolutely everything in life. Our activities are managed to reduce risk and to minimise the chance of mishap. Our equipment is the best, the operating procedures are rigorous, our staff training is continuous and external experts ( technical advisors, insurance underwriters, local authority health and safety officers and Adventure Activities Licensing Service inspectors) help to ensure the activities and the routines are safe.

No

All our instructors, regardless of the qualifications they bring to the job, are trained and, when ready, signed-off by the Head of Outdoor Education at the centre. This ensures that the members of our team are experts at the sites programmed for your activities and with the operations we employ.

There is a morning, afternoon and evening activity on each day of your visit. We plan our daytime activities to ensure that time is well used, nothing is rushed and participants have the necessary space to discover the real joys of what they are doing.

If your group is small or you want come for a short period of time and do more activities, please contact us and we will see if we can arrange something else.

We can cater to most specialised diets, just let us know beforehand.

A normal day at Ardentinny consists of 3 activities spread over the day, with eating, cleaning up and free time in between. If you want to have a look at how exactly the days are structured, you can find an example here.

All the specialised equipment will be provided by the Centre. For general clothes, please have a look at our Kit List. The school should also provide you with such a list shortly before the visit.

Yes. There is a partnership working between the centre staff and party leaders that ensures young people are supervised at all times.

We have a small tuck shop with a limited selection of confectionary and souvenirs. The school will inform you before the visit about how the shop works (normally there is a maximum amount a young person is allowed spend).

You probably have heard that there is no bad weather, just wrong clothes. At Ardentinny, we are used to changing weather, so most of our equipment is designed for all-weather use, and we provide wetsuits, wellies and other things children might need. In addition, each morning we will assess if the planned activities can be done according to the weather forecast and make changes if necessary.

This happens less frequently than some parents may fear. If a main meal is not what a young person is inclined to eat there is always the packed lunch ingredients to fall back on: tuna, cheese, boiled eggs, ham and coleslaw are favourites. And of course, lots of bread and butter.

We will encourage all children to try out every activity, as we know that people can often achieve more than they think possible. However, if a young person really does not want to do an activity, s/he will not be forced to. But in the many years we have done this, we have found that most will be convinced to at least try.

The same as happens at home or in school. The staff responsible for looking after your child in your place will decide what course of action is best. That may be just having a little quiet time or it may be going to the local health centre in Dunoon. If any kind of medicine or treatment is required, the party leader will contact you.

No. But if a young person is afraid of the water, we should be told.

We can manage most additional needs as long as teachers make us aware of them at the time of booking. We will advise you if we think we are not equipped to care appropriately in a specific situation.

You can keep in contact with the school and the party leaders, or by calling the centre if there is an urgent issue. However, we recommend that you don’t just ring for a chat as this can often made children homesick.

Before the group leaves, our instructors collect left-behind items and try very hard to ensure they are returned to their owners.

All individual items should have the young person’s name on them. That way we can identify them if found later and post them back if your child forgets them at the centre (postage will be charged in this case).

We’re committed to work with you to ensure that everyone in the class or group is able to participate and to share the fullest experience and benefit of the trip. The centre has an accessible dormitory, as well as accessible bathrooms. We’ll let you know if we think we’re not equipped to care appropriately in a specific situation.

You can download a suggested list here.

Yes, we consider it an integral part of the adventure that pupils and their parents attend a presentation event in the school before the trip. This helps ensure that pupils and their parents are making a shared as well as an informed decision about taking part.

Ardentinny accommodates up to 120 people. If you’re group is smaller you may be sharing the centre with other groups.

Normally party leaders attend in a ratio of 1 responsible adult per 10 pupils; most local authorities have recommendations about this in their management guidance to school.

Teachers can take part in the group activities to the extent that they themselves are comfortable with: accompanying pupils on some of their adventures is the best way to share the excitement and the fun, but it may not be practical for teachers to go on every activity session. In addition, teachers do have to help with evening activities and are responsible for all the bedtime and early morning routines, so they usually need some time to themselves during the day. The general Visiting Staff Routine can be found here.

When the school is ready to confirm its booking with us, we require a non-refundable deposit per person. Most schools run a savings scheme and the school will want to have the trip fully paid before it actually takes place. We will raise an invoice for the balance of all monies due 8 weeks before the arrival date and funds must be received by us 4 weeks before arrival date.

Twelve weeks before the trip, we will ask for confirmation of the final numbers attending. We reserve the right to charge a cancellation fee for pupils who do not attend after final numbers have been confirmed.

Organisations like ours need to have robust risk assessments for all the activities we provide. Risk assessments are not the whole story, however: it is the operating procedures and the staff training and monitoring that ensure safety and good practice. Ardentinny has risk assessments and well tried and tested operating procedures for every aspect of your visit.